One Crackerjack Story
by Sky Lantern Paradox
Summary: When a certain little tot is having difficulties sleeping at night, it's up to Daddy to come to the rescue and get to the bottom of it in order to assure a more sleep-filled night. Possible drabble collection.


"...Daddy?"

Upon hearing the tiny voice call out from behind, Monty paused in the doorway and turned, managing to make out the shape of a child's head through the darkness that had fallen over the bedroom only moments ago. There was an instant of silence before the man heard the familiar rustle of blankets as the child shifted uneasily in bed, feeling a pang of sympathy stab his heart but smiling nonetheless when the movement ceased and the child's gaze rested solely on him.

Monty made his way across the floor to the child's side, kneeling down by the bed with a throaty chuckle and a glimmer in his eye. "Why, what seems to be the problem, old bean?" He chimed in a hushed tone.

The little boy hugged his plush toy tight to his chest, his messy brown locks sticking out in every direction. His eyes flickered away for a fraction of a second before tentatively darting back to meet his father's gaze, his expression downcasted.

A sigh passed through Monty's lips as he stared back at his son, recognizing the tell-tale signs that something was troubling the young tot yet again. It wasn't as though the man was annoyed by this. Rather, it was quite the contrary; he was deeply concerned with the boy's lack of sleep night after night, but every attempt he made to question him about it, the boy would immediately grow silent and refuse to speak of it for the remainder of the time.

The majority of parents in the world would have given up trying to coax their children into letting them know what was wrong, but Monty refused to give in so easily, feeling his son would open up to him whenever he was good and ready to. And until that day would come, he was willing to console the tot night and night again until the problem was resolved.

However, just as Monty was about to speak, Nigel readjusted his grasp on the Rainbow Monkey and whimpered something softly into the plush's shoulder. At first, the man merely blinked in surprise as let his mouth slowly shut to preserve the words he had been about to say. Then he asked, "Uh... Pardon me?"

Nigel fiddled with the corner of his blanket, raising his voice to an audible murmur as he repeated, "I'm scared, Daddy..."

Monty raised a bushy brow. "Scared?"

Nigel only nodded and sniffled in response.

Monty gently patted the boy's blanket-covered legs, giving him a long and steady look with a worried frown. "Well then, what sort of thing has your head in a muddle, son?" He inquired.

"T-the dark..."

_Poor bean, _Monty thought.

Another sniffle sounded from Nigel, his lower lip quivering as tears formed in the corner of his eyes. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Monty leaned forward slightly to swipe away a stray tear trailing down the boy's cheek and smiled tenderly, hoping to calm his son's trembling body.

Eventually, Nigel stared back at his father through teary eyes, drawing in a few shaky breaths as the shudders gradually subsided. A low string of chuckles suddenly rose from the man's throat.

Nigel tilted his head to the side. "Why are you laughing, Daddy?" He questioned curiously.

Monty quickly quieted himself and shook his balding head, ruffling the boy's choppy hair as he said, "Oh, Daddy was just thinking is all..." He cleared his throat and continued, "But there's no need to be afraid of the dark, Nigel old boy! The dark is there to help you go to sleep at night."

Nevertheless, Nigel remained thoroughly unconvinced of his father's claim, shaking his head in denial. "B-but it's scary!" He argued.

Monty's brows furrowed thoughtfully. "So, the dark is still scary, aye?"

"Y... yeah..."

Monty stroked his chin momentarily before a smile graced his face. "Well, Daddy knows exactly how to fix that," he told Nigel with a wink.

Nigel's eyes widened with interest. "You do?"

"Of course I do, son! Every Daddy knows the best way of getting rid of the oogie-boogies is by using your imagination!"

"How do you do that?" Nigel piped up, twisting around to fully face the adult, a wave of excitement tingling across his skin.

Monty plucked the boy out of bed and set him on his lap. "Oh, there are many ways to use your imagination, I can tell you that! And I'm going to show you how.

"Now, place your hands over your eyes like this."

Nigel watched as Monty lifted his hands and covered his eyes, quickly mimicking the action without a second thought. Peeking through the crevices in his fingers, he craned his neck back to peer up at his father. "Like this?"

"You mustn't peek, Nigel," Monty said, waggling his finger. "It'll spoil the fun."

With a brisk nod, Nigel immediately closed off the gaps between his fingers and turned away, giggling all the while. Monty laughed along with him, carefully resting a hand on Nigel's head as he gave the tot further instructions,

"I want you to try and picture something that makes you happy... Then take your hands off your eyes and look."

Nigel's face scrunched up in concentration, squirming in his father's lap with anticipation. Finally, he removed his hands and opened his eyes, releasing an astonished gasp.

"I did it, Daddy!" He squealed, utterly elated by his success as he shook Monty's arm and pointed ahead. "Look, Daddy! I did it!"

"My," Monty breathed, glancing down at Nigel in awe. "It would seem as though you did. Well done, lad!"

Nigel beamed and wrapped his arms around Monty's midsection, hugging the adult warmly as he said softly, "Thank you, Daddy."

Monty felt his heart well as he embraced Nigel back, rising to his feet and tucking the tot into bed with his Rainbow Monkey.

"You're welcome, Nigel," he whispered. He brushed back Nigel's bangs, placing a tender kiss on the boy's forehead before pulling away. "Now, try and get some sleep. So long as you keep using your imagination to see the one thing in this whole wide world that makes you happy, then the darkness won't scare you anymore, alright?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Alright then... Goodnight, Nigel my boy."

"Goodnight, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you, too."

* * *

"...Try and picture something that makes you happy. Then take your hands off your eyes and look."

The bald Brit drew in a deep breath and focused, the gears in his mind turning as he recreated the image he had in his head. When he was certain the image was complete, he lifted his hands away and blinked into the shadows that swathed his bedroom, seeing the fuzzy image progressively manifest itself at the end of his bed with a contented smile.

"Goodnight, Dad," Nigel mumbled, his gaze lingering on the fading figure a while longer before he snuggled under the covers and fell into a peaceful slumber.

**Author's Note:** So, I may or may not make a little fluff-filled drabble collection out of this. I've had this story stuck on my head for a week but only just rewrote it when I reread my original and thought it could use a few tweaks ^^' Anyways, I'd appreciate your thoughts on whether or not you liked it, and if you'd like to see it become a drabble series! This story is dedicated to my broski Kia. She's positutely super!


End file.
